Chocolate Cake Truffles

From Top Clockwise:

Red Velvet, Andes Mint, Blood Orange, Mud Pie

MS and I had a dinner out and I was in the mood for something sweet to finish our night in Culver City. After a quick search on my iPhone, we found ourselves at Essential Chocolate Desserts - a quaint little dessert shop with a comfy looking couch, music in the background and a few small tables.

It looked like the shop was closing up even though they were open for another few hours, and we were the only patrons during our short stop in. I'd say we were only there for five minutes, maybe less.

I was disappointed that we weren't greeted the way I would have greeted some cold customers if it were my little shop...

In my world, here's what I would have said:

"Welcome! It's cold out there, huh?! Thank goodness it stopped raining! Have you come in before? If not, why don't you two take a look at our sweets, let me know if there's anything you'd like to sample, have any questions, and make yourselves comfortable on our couch. We also have hot chocolate, tea, coffee ~ if you'd like to start with that? We make an incredible... {fill in the blank}."

Instead, there was a lot of awkward shuffling around as MS and I looked through the glass to see the different treats. I asked a lot of... "What are these? And those? The flavors?"... trying to ascertain what I should get. I hate walking in a store, especially after making a point to visit, and not helping the small business with a purchase.

So thankfully, after musing on whether or not I should buy some of their cake truffles, the guy who looked like an owner or manager suggested to our helper that he cut one of the cake truffles that had a piece fallen off of it and offer it to us as a sample.

Not sure if these little bites are worth the $1.25 each, but I thought I'd patronize them by getting a box of four different flavors and a small $6 seasonal pumpkin pie tartlet.

Again, in my world, I would have asked...

"Would you like to have a seat while we bring these over to you? Perhaps something warm to drink too? Or some water?"

Then maybe, I wouldn't think twice about paying a little more for these sweet treats. The pumpkin pie was decent, but after living in the Midwest and making my own version with homegrown ingredients, it's hard to compare. The cake truffles reminded me of cake pops, moist inside but not too sweet - all encased in a nice shell of chocolate. The different flavors were good too, just a hint of orange and of mint without being overwhelming.

"Hope you enjoyed and will come again!"

Not sure if MS and I will be back, but I'm glad we stopped in to try something new.

Essential Chocolate Desserts
address: 10868 Washington Blvd. | Culver City, CA | 90232
tel: 1.310.287.0699
url: http://essentialchocolate.com
hrs: M-Th 8a-8p; F-Sa 8a-10p; Su 12p-8p